Exxon selling its stake in Terra Nova offshore project
ENERGY
CALGARY• Exxon Mobil Corp. says its Canadian arm has put up for sale its 19-percent interest in the Terra Nova offshore oil project 350 kilometres southeast of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Spokeswoman Suann Guthrie confirms that the company is marketing its stake after a review of its portfolio to ensure it meets its strategic objectives.
She says the decision has no impact on Exxon’s other assets in Canada and adds the company will remain a long- term investor in the province.
“We continuously review our asset portfolio to ensure it meets our strategic objectives,” Guthrie said in a statement.
Exxon Mobil Canada is the operator of the $ 14- billion Hebron offshore oil project off Newfoundland and Labrador, which pumped its first oil in November, and a part- owner of the Hibernia offshore project. It operates the Sable offshore natural gas project off Nova Scotia which is being decommissioned due to production declines.
The Terra Nova project consists of a floating production, storage and off-loading vessel to produce and ship oil. The project has pumped 400 million barrels of oil and consists of 30 wells that pumped about 31,000 barrels per day last year, the document said.
Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods said in January the company would invest more than US$ 50 billion over the next five years to expand its business in the United States, helped by reduced U.S. federal taxes on corporations.
Calgar y- based Suncor Energy is the operator of Terra Nova with a 38- percent stake. Production began in 2002. PetroCanada, Husky Oil Ltd. and Murphy Oil Corp. are other partners in the project.